Agric Director: Our Staff Salary will be Increase by 2018 If Resources are Available

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hi5workadm

EYEAFRICA TV: Banjul, THE GAMBIA: The Director General of Gambia’s Agricultural Research Institution (NARI) have said that if resources become available by 2018, they will increase their staff salary increment.
Presenting his institution’s 2014 to 2016 annual report before the National Assembly Select Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development at the Assembly building in Banjul today, Mr. Ansumana Jarju said NARI is a subvented institution as it depends on Government to pay staff salaries. “We have been struggling. We depend on Government to pay salaries; the bottom line is lack of resource.”
Mr. Camara, a member of the select committee asked why NARI’s staff salaries are too low in which the secretary receives D800 while others received “price of a bag of rice. This is an insult to human nature,” Camara stressed.
Mr. Jarju they have in fact uplifted all the staff salary in 2017, following the 2016 report. He said the payroll for 2017 will be presented for verification by the committee members.
Also answering to questions from committee members, the chairman of NARI said the institution has to come up with strategies that will enable the institution to pay it’s staff salaries by itself.
On fuel subvention they receive from the government, Mr. Jarju said the institution has what they called “Fuel Management Strategy” in which every vehicle gets 30ltrs of fuel and 80ltrs for those going on track.
The National Agricultural Research Institute was established by an act of parliament in 1993. It evolved from the department of agricultural research of the then ministry of agriculture and natural resources.
Today, NARI is a major component of The Gambia agricultural research system (NARS).
The institution maintains two main research stations, one in the eastern half of the country at Sapu in Central River Division (CRR) and the other in the western half at Yundum.
The board changes every three years; the current board’s term is expected to end in December.